The Tale of the Two Konoha Shinobi
by Powerofmind99
Summary: When Jiraiya dies, believing that his story is over, he remembers that the best writers never publish their first draft. Follow him back to his genin days, where both fun and danger await. Time Travel, AU, Rated T because I'm paranoid.
1. The New Title

The Tale of the Two Great Shinobi

Disclaimer: i don't own Naruto, seems hard to forget that, but I damn well did.

When Jiraiya dies, believing that his story is over, he remembers that the best writers never publish their first draft. Time Travel and AU, Jiraiya for a change

* * *

The white-haired toad sage, one of the Sannin, famous womanizer, author of the infamous Icha Icha series, Jiraiya was all of them. But when it came down to the very end, with a collapsed throat, a missing arm, dozens of chakra spikes driven into his body, he was nothing more than an aging Konoha Shinobi on a mission. As the platform he lay dying on exploded, sending him into the freezing waters, he couldn't help but find it ironic that he would willingly give up his ridiculous kabuki-esque introduction for something similar the simplest description of himself. _I am Jiraiya, Shinobi of Konohagakure… That has such a nice ring to it… Maybe I could write a book about it._

With his quickly darkening senses, Jiraiya hit the water. _There… That ending… was a little better. _He felt the bubbles passing across his body, but the sensation stopped abruptly when his brain's sense of touch shut down. _The frog at the bottom of the well… drifts off into the great ocean. Hehehe… Yep… Pretty honorable… pretty darn honorable. _Something started happening to the sage's chakra, the remnants of his sage chakra molding in unknown patterns, but the part of Jiraiya's mind that controlled it was halfway dead already, and he didn't seem to care. _I guess… it's time to put down my pen. Oops… Right… I need a title for the next book… Let's see…_

Jiraiya's mind was already gone. The blinding light and power created by the still-molding chakra was unknown to him, the sweet but burning warmth around him was unfelt. _Ah… Got it…_

* * *

"AHHHHH!!" Jiraiya awoke in a freezing cold sweat, leaping from his bed and almost crying. He was statuesque in a sitting position on his bed, hands dug hard into the covers and sheets and still causing sharp pain from where his fingernails almost dug past the fabrics, for almost ten minutes. An alarm startled him out of his terror-induced stupor, and also informed him that it was 7:30 in the morning.

Almost on auto-pilot, he got dressed. He even managed to shove some food in his stomach, never noticing that the cloths were obviously for a child, or that they were from his own childhood.

When Jiraiya went outside, he was greeted by the faces of people he could barely remember, some of them he was sure must have died ages ago. _I guess I was just dreaming that battle… But it was so… real. I wonder…_ When he left the realm of his thoughts, and came back to what he was doing at the moment, he discovered he was at Training Ground 3, the famous wooden posts giving it away. _Strange, I wonder why I would wander out here._

What he saw next froze his heart mid-beat. The Sandaime, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was standing in front of him, alive and well, and young! "S-s-sandaime!?" This earned Jiraiya a surprised look from Sarutobi, as well as a sarcastic laugh from the other two newcomers, Orochimaru and Tsunade.

"Oh please! You sound like a woman, coming up with a premonition like that!" Jiraiya half-expected to see Orochimaru on the ground after a remark like that, especially right in front of Tsunade, but Tsunade… _HAS NO BREASTS?!_ "WHAT THE HELL, TSUNADE-HIME?! What happened to your breasts?!" _Wrong choice of words!_

Jiraiya woke up for the second time in a single day, courtesy of Tsunade. "…you killed him, I think." "Good, the little pervert deserves it after saying something like that to a lady!" The white-haired sage gingerly rubbed his head as he sat up, "Damnit. That hurt." _Alright Jiraiya, take stock of the situation. You had a dream that you… died… fighting Pain. Then you woke up, came to training ground three, saw a dead hokage, a child hokage, and a child traitor. And… I feel so dull, so blunt. The world around me feels so bland and unknown… Plus… I feel tiny._

He heard Sarutobi's voice again. It was starting to send a chill down his spine. "Alright, now that all three of you are here, and awake… I'll get down to business. Just because you graduated from the academy doesn't mean that you're shinobi. First, you have to pass your sensei's test, otherwise, you'll get sent back to the academy for another year!" This earned a worried gasp from the young princess, a raised eyebrow from the snake, and Jiraiya could only gawk in amazement at what was happening before him.

_Maybe I really did fight, maybe I'm just seeing my life flash before my eyes! No… Then I wouldn't have said that… I said something different that got me punched the first time this happened… What's going on? Did I have a dream of my entire life? Has the Shinigami given me some cruel joke for a hell? Is this really… the past?_ "You have to acquire one of these two bells from me before noon. The one that doesn't will fail this test, and will be tied to one of these posts until nightfall." Jiraiya's mind was foggy, partly from the punch, but also from the discovery that he was in some alternate world, or the past, or hell, he couldn't decide which.

"You say that like all three of us stand a chance at getting a bell. What if only one person can get it?" Jiraiya turned to face Orochimaru, the snake. Just like him to think that only he could get a bell, even as subtly as he masked the idea. "Then anyone that can't get a bell will also be tied up. Enough talk, time to begin! START!"

The other two launched off into the trees, hiding immediately. Jiraiya was still standing where he was when he woke up from Tsunade's punch, unmoving, looking at himself and at Sarutobi as though he had never seen either before in his life. Sarutobi seemed confused, this boy was supposed to be something of a genius, if a stupid genius, but this was terrible strategy, and it was somewhat creepy. "Jiraiya-kun, did you get your hands on opiates before you showed up to train?" The half-joke, half-concerned question snapped the now-young boy from his daydreams, and he did the first thing that came to mind.

Sarutobi was surprised. Jiraiya had managed to almost nick him back there with that punch. He hadn't expected for the child to be so fast, nor did the data suggest it. The only other way he could have done that was with a chakra augmentation, which wasn't marked on the datasheets when he skimmed over them earlier. Had he been holding back in the academy? Time to contemplate was short, as the boy launched a barrage of kicks and punches, all augmented with chakra, all done perfectly, with no wasted energy, and maximized to the safest maximum amount that his reserves of chakra would allow. _This child, he's like a veteran chuunin or jounin! This is far above what I expected, I'll have to go all out here!_

Meanwhile, in the trees, Orochimaru and Tsunade were planning their duo attack, having already decided the idiot orphan boy wasn't the one they wanted to team up with. Much to their surprise, then, that the idiot orphan was suddenly engaged in a high-speed taijutsu battle with their sensei-to-be, and he was holding his own! Orochimaru looked on with interest, and Tsunade with surprise. Tsunade was the first to make a comment. "He wasn't this good yesterday…" Orochimaru agreed, "That's true, and look, they're moving up to ninjutsu!"

He was right, Sarutobi had already performed his Kawarami to dodge the katon jutsu that Jiraiya had just fired off in his direction. This was almost distressing to the Professor, since there was no way that a child like Jiraiya could have gotten his hands on such a technique, much less use it. The thought that Jiraiya had been replaced with a spy briefly crossed his mind, but the taijutsu battle would have canceled a henge, even a perfect one.

Jiraiya was fighting with no real aim, he didn't even know what he was doing. He was just stalling for time to figure out how he would deal with his situation, and he finally decided. Something had affected his chakra when the spikes were driven into him during the battle with Pain, and he ended up in the past. Being a master of seals, and having studied his own Sage Mode briefly, he conceded it's obvious possibility. _After all, stranger things have happened._

Jiraiya came at his sensei once again, aiming to make a kick at the older man's right side, only to be countered and pushed back. _Hehehe… I guess… _Jiraiya formed the handseals for his Hari Jizo, causing the Sandaime to recoil from his most recent attack._ A true writer can never put down his pen. _Hiruzen threw a couple of shuriken, only to have one of them caught and the rest dodged. _Oops… That's right… If this is going to be my revision, then it'll have to have a whole new title. _Jiraiya, in a display of ability that proved he was beyond a mere genin, tossed the shuriken back at his sensei directly, and used the Shunshin no Jutsu to keep him from running. His past and future sensei ducked away, but the grip that Jiraiya had, strengthened by chakra, only let him get so far as to let the shuriken cut the bells from the sensei's belt. _Let's see…_

The toad-orphan grabbed the bells, letting go of the Professor and causing both of his teammates, and the Professor himself, to gasp in shock and awe. With a wide grin and a victory sign, he held the bells out for all to see. _Ah… Got it…_ _"The Tale of the Two Great Shinobi."_

…_Perfect._

* * *

This is my first story, as I'm sure a few of you noticed. I was too lazy to decide on a beta, and I'm sure they have better things to do than handle some newbie writer's work, so this is both written and revised by me.

I can't really decide if I should continue this, since I seem to have such terrible trouble writing it, or writing anything at all for that matter. I guess if a few good people write their comments and, can't stress enough, _**constructive**_ criticism, I'll try my hand at more.


	2. The Protagonist's Struggles

The Protagonist's Struggles

The Tale of the Two Konoha Shinobi

I guess I'm supposed to put in a disclaimer, but it takes so loooong….

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…

When Jiraiya dies, believing that his story is over, he remembers that the best writers never publish their first draft.

-Note-

I'll be explaining Ghille Dhu's question in the 3rd chapter! Yay for delayed answers!

-Previously-

Jiraiya dies in the battle with Pain, but a strange event pushes his mind, and his soul, 48 years into the past, where he is surprised to meet his first team as children, and even more surprised that he is a child himself! Taking his unsuspecting sensei, Sarutobi Hiruzen, by surprise in his attempt at the bell test, he succeeds in getting both bells before either of his teammates can enact the plan they would have used originally.

Tsunade was the first to recover from the shock of what had just happened. "NANI?! Jiraiya-baka got both bells?! Sensei, did you let him get the bells, or did he cheat? I BET HE CHEATED! JIRAIYA-BAKA!!!" The tiny powerhouse sprang out of the trees, fist already cocked back, and plummeted down to meet Jiraiya square on the head.

Jiraiya, intelligently, sidestepped by a wide margin, letting the mini-Tsunade, who was apparently already entering puberty, make a massive fissure in the ground in front of her. _There goes the story I had where Tsunade slammed me 100 feet away with just a single fist... How am I supposed to scare my teams straight if I can't say that without lying to them?_ "Hold up, Tsunade-hime! Please don't hit me!" As if on cue, Orochimaru also left his cover, making a snide comment with his high-pitched, oily voice, which sounded more like a girl than a boy. "Scared of a girl, Jiraiya? Figures that you would bribe our new sensei into letting you look golden for a moment only to ruin it by cowering away from Tsunade-hime."

Jiraiya sneered back at his teammates, "You just wish you were as cool as I was, and judging by how long you two took to think, you might need a sensei more than me, here! Ungrateful bastards..." With that, the white-haired boy flung a bell towards each of his angry teammates, thoroughly confusing both of them. Orochimaru practically hissed at him. "If anyone needs a sensei it would be you! How stupid can you be, throwing away your chance at having the student of the Nidaime teach you!" Tsunade, who had just yesterday slapped Jiraiya over the head for being rude, inconsiderate, and selfish, was now rethinking two of those descriptions. _He gave me his bell, and he even gave Orochimaru-kun his other bell! He's willing to spend a whole extra year in the academy for us, and he knew neither of us liked him one bit!_ The Senju princess swallowed hard, closed her eyes, and interrupted the arguing boys by thrusting the jingling bell into Jiraiya's face. "Here! I can't accept this, Jiraiya-ba… Jiraiya. You deserve it more than I do."

This act of kindness, and change of attitude, frightened Jiraiya, but he hid it with curiosity, tilting his head slightly and furrowing his eyebrows, all the while refusing to take the bell. "Tsunade-hime, you'd give up the bell for me?" A sudden interruption came in the form of the dinging of an alarm clock, where the future sandaime was standing. Now that the monkey summoner held the attention, he could announce their results. "You have all… FAILED!"

The two bells suddenly exploded in smoke, revealing shadow clones of Sarutobi, which disappeared as well after they had been properly displayed. _This didn't happen last time!_ "Those weren't the bells? But Jiraiya cut them off of your belt, didn't he?" The man smirked as he pulled two bells, identical to the ones that were just in the gennin's possession, from the inside of his belt, where they had been hidden the whole time. Orochimaru noticed the immediate consequence fastest. "He's going to tie us to the posts! RUN FOR-" Jiraiya heard two thuds, and then blacked out.

All three of them woke up with their heads feeling sore, and it didn't take long for them to start struggling against their bonds. The Professor got them twice over, once with the bells, and now they were tied to the posts! "Just our luck with Jiraiya here. He makes us all fall for one big trap!" The young sage turned his head angrily, "Shut up, Orochimaru-teme. Blame one of your problems on you for once, why don't ya." The blond piped up with a hint of anger in her voice, "How about both of you stop focusing on the problem, and start focusing on the letter in front of us, and the one pack lunch it's sitting on!" All three of the young stomachs growled at once, demanding nourishment. At the same time, all three young shinobi also grumbled in defeat. "Damnit."

Orochimaru, being the over-cautious boy he always was, had planted knives in wrist slots, hidden by his cloths, so he escaped first, making sure to eat the lunch in front of both of the others. He was kind enough to read the contents of the letter aloud, in the monotonous way that one reads a letter aloud. "Dear students, Hahaha, I got all of you there. You actually thought you all failed, what a laugh. If it isn't obvious enough, you all pass, and I expect to see you back here at 0700 sharp tomorrow morning. P.S. Orochimaru, since you escaped first because of the wrist knives, you have to free the other two. If you don't, I'll quadruple your training load for our first week."

Orochimaru looked at Tsunade and Jiraiya, then to the path that led back to the village, and back to his fellow teammates again. This continued for almost a minute, leaving both of the still bound students sweating bullets. Finally, Orochimaru cut Tsunade free, and left. Tsunade followed Orochimaru's initial plan of letting Jiraiya sweat it out, but she didn't count on him snapping. "HEY NO-BREAST! CUT ME FREE ALREADY!" A very large vein popped in her forehead, but it left as she took a breath, stuck her tongue out at him, and left him alone in the field.

Jiraiya screamed in frustration, struggling vainly against the bonds for a moment before slumping down in defeat. _Must forget no-breast, must forget no breast, must forget…_

_Chapter One, The First of the Two is Made Legend!_

Ok, I was planning on explaining how Jiraiya was fighting so well in this chapter, but I guess I'll be saving it for the next one. Again, written and revised by me, blah blah blah… let the angry critics roam free!


	3. Suspenseful Buildup: Unknown Talent

Suspenseful Build-up: Unknown Talent

The Tale of the Two Konoha Shinobi

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

When Jiraiya dies, believing that his story is over, he remembers that the best writers never publish their first draft.

* * *

-Previously-

The trio of sannin-to-be are tricked by their sensei, who doesn't seem to be as sagely and kind as he once was... will be... whatever. Now they all head to their respective homes, to share their tales with family.

* * *

As Hiruzen left the team he had just accepted, tied and bound to trees, the slight grin he had on his face from tricking the kids turned sour. Where did Jiraiya gain such a high degree of skill? Hiruzen knew that the boy was a genius, Tobirama had made sure that each child on the team was brilliant, but this was more than just secret study time.

* * *

Tobirama was a tired, tired man. His office was dull, boring, and utterly lifeless. "I wonder when I'll get to go out and fight in the war..." Numerous small stress balls, all permanently deformed, littered his desk and trash can. It was obvious that they weren't made for a shinobi's rough squeeze.

Just as he was about to turn his paperwork into target practice, his old student stormed into the room, a sense of dread and worry following quickly behind. "Saru, you look troubled. I take it my team couldn't live up to your expectations, somehow?"

"We need to talk about Jiraiya." The tone and expression conveyed utmost seriousness. Tobirama didn't need his powerful sensing to realize Hiruzen was bringing up some potentially devastating information. "Was there an accident during your test? Personally, the boy was my favorite. My grandniece is too spoiled and Orochimaru a little unstable. Jiraiya, though a little weaker, had such strong... loyalty. It would be a shame to lose such Will so early.

Hiruzen shook his head as he seated himself across from his superior. "No, quite the opposite in fact. He was able to perform intermediate level chakra augmentation, on a full-body scale. On top of that, he used a Katon jutsu, one I am not familiar with." Tobirama looked shocked for a moment, and produced a record folder, seemingly from nowhere. Young Jiraiya's photograph was attached.

"This is strange indeed, I don't remember seeing any of those abilities on record." The Senju flipped through the pages, skimming with the eye of a trained reader. "It does say that he possesses great potential to become an expert ninjutsu user... and he has surprised me once or twice by exhibiting some lesser jutsu that he wasn't supposed to know during academy war simulations."

Frowning, he continued. "So that could, with a stretch, explain his knowledge of Katon jutsu... But this doesn't explain how he has such good control over his chakra, enough to perform chuunin level, full-body augmentation. I could be sure that he had a very low score in that area." Hiruzen nodded, "His control should have been much, much lower. This was at least higher chuunin level. I know I'm nowhere near your ability in sensing, but I could tell at least that much."

The two men sat in the office for a time, Tobirama pondering this change in events, and Hiruzen worrying over the possible dangers that it could pose. Finally, the elder spoke up. "Have some blood taken at the hospital, we'll use the new deep cellular gene tests to see if he really is who he's supposed to be. We can check his chakra reserves while we're at it. Chances are that he has a very good quantity of chakra to go with all that control. In the meantime..." The Hokage's eyes fell to the desk in front of him, almost disappointed that he'd be forced to do this. "Seal him in the Hole." The mighty shinobi shed a tear, wiping it away just as quickly. "Of the three, I liked him the most. He was so incredibly determined. I could see the fire in his eyes, the fire my brother spoke so often and so highly of. I... I almost can't believe this..."

* * *

Orochimaru stood tall, back straight, chin up, as he stepped into the house. "Mother, Father, I'm home." "Come into the family room." The small boy smiled, they didn't call it the family room unless there was going to be a good talk.

He wiped the smile from his face as he stepped under the doorway, not wanting to look too excited in front of his parents. His mother gestured for him to sit, patting a pale hand onto a cushion next to her. Yashagoro, his father, looked at him with a quirked eyebrow. Father is very excited! "Orochimaru, I trust you performed well in your final examination?" Orochimaru seated himself before speaking. "Hai, Tou-san." His father, mildly pleased, pressed further. "What kind of examination was it?" "It was a combat test. Sensei held a pair of bells, and only the two students who took them would be allowed to pass. Sensei passed all three of us anyway, since the test appeared to be a lesson in understanding team dynamic more than combat."

His mother broke in momentarily. "I heard that the granddaughter of the First was among your team, did you try to make a good impression?" "Of course, Kaa-san." His father tapped a hand to his knee, silencing his mother immediately. "Who was the third member? No doubt Hokage-sama selected one of the great clans, perhaps a Hyuuga, or an Uchiha." Orochimaru inwardly gulped. "No, Tou-san. My third team member was an orphan boy by the name of Jiraiya." "The white-haired child in your class?" "Hai, Tou-san." The older man grunted, obviously displeased. "How foolish of Hokage-sama. That child is no more than a trouble-maker." Orochimaru, suddenly feeling brave, spoke back almost immediately. His father was old-fashioned, too in love with the old clan ways. "Jiraiya defeated Hiruzen-sensei alone, taking both bells." The look he received from his father screamed bloody murder, and Orochimaru might have cringed, but if anything, he smiled further. His father, turning a shade redder, tapped his hand to his knee twice, and his wife immediately moved to roll the man's wheelchair out of the room and away from his son.

* * *

"TSUNADE-ONEE-CHAN!" _WHAM!_ "Owwww owowowow! STOP IT!" "I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME ONEE-CHAN! IT'S ONEE-SAN! ONEE-SAN!" Young Nawaki's eyes glowed defiantly, and he choked out the next sentence as best he could. "Okay, Okay! I'm sorry... ONEE-CHAN!" Tsunade put a little more weight onto her foot. "OW, OKAY OKAY, ONEE-SAN! ONEE-SAN!" Pleased, Tsunade lifted her foot from her little brother's back, letting him get up. "Onee-san, how did you do in your test? huh? howdjyadohowdjyadohowdjyado?" Tsunade raised her open palm, covering his mouth and, thankfully, shutting him up. "I did fine, Nawaki. Where's mom?" The little boy put up a pout, pointing to the living room. "She's in there." Tsunade giggled a little, ruffling her little brother's hair up as she went to go talk to her mom.

"My sweet little 'nade-chan! You're back! I heard all about some final test from uncle Tobirama, but he didn't tell me how it went, the old coot." Tsunade smiled a bit, even with the war raging on, and her grandfather's recent death, mom was still mom. "It was weird! That stupid Jiraiya kid, you know, the white-haired one? He actually beat Sarutobi-sensei! Well, sensei still tricked all of us at the end of it all, but it was crazy all the same. He tied all of us to posts and Orochimaru untied me." Senju Natsumi laughed a bit, noticing something her daughter left out. "And what about little Jiraiya? Wasn't he untied?" Tsunade huffed, crossing her small arms over her chest. _No-breast!_ They fell away just as quickly at the memory of that stupid name. "Pff, his parents can find him, for all I care." Natsumi frowned, disappointed at her daughter's behavior. "Tsunade... Didn't you ever know about Jiraiya? His parents are..."

* * *

Jiraiya was still trapped, unable to move. He didn't expect to be rescued, not really. He remembered, long ago, but only a scant few years for this body, and it's memories, that he had to learn to survive with what fell at his feet. It wasn't easy, at first, but he got the hang of it after being robbed a few times and pilfering things a few times himself.

A few tricks, and a little chakra later, the white-haired child was free from his bonds, a little sad, a little sore, and still a lot confused. He wandered home, knowing the way from some long-gone memory and daily routine at the same time. His door wasn't locked, it never was. He always wanted to keep everything he had open to everyone, especially since there wasn't anything to take from a six-year-old's apartment.

But back to the point, he died, he was pretty damn sure of that. But then, he came back to life, in his own child body, with his own adult spirit and memories. He knew things that had not yet come to pass, and probably never would with his newfound knowledge. He knew... He was certain, Orochimaru could be changed, saved even. He could uncover the plot of an unknown, and stop the summoning of the Kyuubi, saving his student, giving Naruto a chance at a family.

_Naruto... You were such an amazing child... I'm afraid to change you, to change your past, your future. But... you wouldn't want that. You'd jump for joy, you'd laugh as you beat time itself and change everything for the better, even if you didn't know how to make those changes, you would still give it your all._

_I've decided._

* * *

Jiraiya smiled as he stepped into his quiet, empty room. Rolling onto the bed, he put things in an easier to understand form for himself again. "I won't edit my first book, but I can't start on Naruto's sequel. I'll have to write another book into the middle... Maybe, if I write my sequel well enough, I'll be allowed to do more than the title page on Naruto's." _Just maybe..._

* * *

Crap I want to say:  
Well now, this was fairly fun to write, creating some families for the other two sannin and fleshing things out a bit. I'm proud to have finally gotten my ass in gear to write a chapter for this, and I'd LIKE to keep myself moving with it, but I can't promise any regular, quick updates, just keep your eye out for it. sorry folks!

Crap I wanted to say but forgot the first time:  
OHSHI-! Well I forgot to mention i set up a poll for the story... Not that many people look at this story, but meh. I've narrowed down where it will go into three general directions... But they're all absolutely AMAZING directions... so i can't decide for myself. And... I'm forcing you guys to! yay for laziness!


	4. Dawn: The Three are Born

Dawn: The Three are Born

The Tale of the Two Konoha Shinobi

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…

When Jiraiya dies, believing that his story is over, he remembers that the best writers never publish their first draft.

* * *

-Previously-

Hiruzen is distressed at Jiraiya's display of advanced techniques, and turns to his own sensei, Senju Tobirama, for advice. The two begin planning for the worst, but Jiraiya suspects nothing.

* * *

"You will not investigate the child." The voice of a newcomer echoed from the door.

"!" The two conspirators exchanged glances as the woman entered the room. "S-sister-in-law! You were listening in on us?"

From the doorway, the aging widow of the Shodai, Uzumaki Mito, approached the Hokage's desk. She took her position formally, wearing the customary kimono that denoted her position, as well as special sealing marks both tattooed on her, and attached via tags. Her position in the village was less administrative and more matriarchal, but, in moments like this one, she knew how to throw around the title "Mother of Konoha" as needed. "I said, you will not investigate the child."

Hiruzen dared not speak, even in his position as heir apparent to the Hokage seat, to her, he was no more than a child, and should he open his mouth, he would be scolded like one. Considering everything, it would be terribly embarrassing.

Tobirama was much luckier. Even though he was the Nidaime, he was in the same position as Mito and Hashirama, when the man was alive. Most of the council members feared the day that Tobirama died, as the Uzumaki Mistress would easily be able to make any whim a reality with her popularity and political force. "Why not, sister? He has displayed great changes since only days earlier! There could be an imminent threat to the village, and with the war, that could be disastrous!" Tobirama protested.

The woman shook her head solemnly. "You will not investigate him. Trust in my judgement, brother. I have not endangered my children yet, and it is not my plan to do so now."

_'I know something you do not, Tobirama.'_ He picked up the silent speech between the lines. His brother had once hinted that she had somehow gained the power of foresight after sealing the Kyuubi into her body, and he whole-heartedly believed it. "I... understand, sister. Hiruzen!"

Sarutobi looked exclusively to his Hokage, a stray glance likely to earn him a disappointed look from Mito. That was easily equal to a scolding. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Treat the incident as normal, teach each child as you see fit. Consider the events that occurred in this office... nonexistent." Tobirama had set his elbows on the table, hands folded just under his chin. He couldn't shake his gut feeling that something was off, however.

* * *

Mito stood stoically until Hiruzen left, then seated herself across from her brother-in-law. "Oh Tobi-kun, that was wonderful! I've not had that much fun in quite some time. I must say, this meeting I've walked in on was actually a surprise to me."

Tobirama leaned back, suddenly much more relaxed than before, but no less fearful. "Please, Mito, I've always had a problem with that name, why can't you just use my full one?"

The Uzumaki mistress giggled softly and shot the Hokage a sly glance. "Ahh, alas, it will not be so, Tobi-kun."

Tobirama sighed, staring off at through the ceiling into space. "I'm not sure how you know these things, Mito. Only days ago this boy was merely above average. In a span of hours he's transformed into a chuunin, at the least. You'll understand if I'm suspicious of him, but... what _do_ you see in him?"

Mito crossed her legs and let her hands rest on the top knee, smirking as she did. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know?"

The Hokage groaned in annoyance. His sister-in-law always seemed to be a step ahead of everything, as if she could truly see it coming. At times like this, he wished she would just use this prescience for the village. Of course, there was little he could actually do to make her. "If you give your word that leaving the boy as is will not harm my people..."

The Uzumaki giggled again, and her smile faded a little. She stood up and stepped around the desk, lifting the Hokage's chin to look at his face. "You needn't worry about the boy, Tobi-kun, but just this once, I'll give you some advice," She released him and began to leave, "Now would be a good time to select your successor."

Tobirama froze more solidly than ice as Mito swayed casually out of the room. From her, the idle comment was no threat. He cursed his shortening life as he donned his war armor, fully intent on squeezing every last bit of power from his body before he saw her again.

* * *

Tsunade felt sufficiently cowed. Actually, she couldn't remember feeling that bad since she got grandmother Mito upset with her for breaking a china doll._ Why didn't he ever say anything?_ "I didn't know he was... an orphan kid."

Natsumi shook her head. "I didn't think you didn't know, Tsunade. I just assumed... and then you started getting angry at his behavior all of a sudden. My, if you hadn't said anything, I'd have just assumed that you knew."

Tsunade felt disappointed in herself. Her grandfather and granduncle always went on about how important team work was. In fact, they created the Konoha team dynamic after their own little group of friends. The two brothers and the older brother's wife, two boys, one girl. How couldn't she have known that one team mate had no parents, when she could recite the exact chemical terminology for the poison in the father of the other's spine? _I should apologize... and then hit him for not telling me, jerk._ "I... I've gotta go for a minute."

* * *

Orochimaru sat happily in his room, a bed, a bookshelf, a desk, and a door his only company. Both of his parents were weak, old-fashioned. Just because their family was once steeped in tradition deeper than the Hyuuga, his father still believed that he held a position of authority. The fool would often make requests to be included in clan council business, which was utterly embarrassing, as he'd have his only two relatives with him every single time. The clan was long dead and was only famous for, at most, three exceptionally creative and intelligent shinobi, himself included, of course.

None of that mattered anymore, however, and that was why Orochimaru was so happy. As a fully-fledged shinobi as of tomorrow, he had the right to leave his parental home and find somewhere to live alone. _I will finally cut off this dead and rotting appendage, this weakness, so that I can grow to become more powerful! And someday, I'll be the Hokage, just like the founding brothers!_

* * *

Jiraiya yawned sleepily. He had everything figured out. He'd pull back on the reigns a little bit for now, and let his friends catch up. Then, they'd be the three sannin again. _Just like old times, man how I miss those._ The hardest part, though, was convincing Orochimaru not to want power for the sake of power. He had to share his Will of Fire with his best friend, so that they could have what he always wanted. A friend he wouldn't have to chase after, wouldn't have to promise to find. He wouldn't have to let Naruto write a sad, eerily similar sequel to his own life. The thought brought a tear to his eye.

Tsunade saw the tear and thought differently, and almost broke into a full blown pity cry because of it. "It's really true, isn't it, Jiraiya. You're alone..."

The white-haired kid looked over to his open window, seeing Tsunade hanging expertly on the thin ledge with balance and chakra.

"No family? Yeah." He said, leaning back to stare at the ceiling in the failing light.

Tsunade sucked back some tears, and stepped inside. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Jiraiya let himself respond naturally, knowing that he couldn't think of the answers she wanted. "Why should I? Tell you, I mean."

The Senju opened her mouth to speak, but was struck by the question he gave her in return. After a moment, she realized she didn't have a good answer. Why would she know, she barely looked at him more than she laid a fist in his face. She stepped up to him, seeing him laying in his bed, above the covers, and smacked him. "Pervert."

She disappeared immediately after, leaving the ailing time-traveller to nurse his red cheek. "Maybe I should have just shut up and cried. Girls like sensitive guys."

* * *

Crap I wanna say: yo, this story's back, too. I write as I please now, since I know I can't hold my own deadlines. Be vigilant, and the updates will come. And a damn good thing I waited so long, too. I kind of wrote myself into a corner without a character like Mito! Whew!


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